Female Hero: Empress Wu Zetian (Women in World History Curriculum) Tang Dynasty China (625-705 AD) ©1996-2016 womeninworldhistory.com Even though according to the Confucian beliefs having a woman rule would be as unnatural as having a "hen crow like a rooster at daybreak," during the most glorious years of the Tang dynasty a woman did rule, and ruled successfully. She was Wu Zetian, the only female in Chinese history to rule as emperor. To some she was an autocrat, ruthless in her desire to gain and keep power. To others she, as a woman doing a "man's job," merely did what she had to do, and acted no differently than most male emperors of her day. They also note that she managed to effectively rule China during one of its more peaceful and culturally diverse periods. The Tang dynasty (618-906 AD) was a time of relative freedom for women. They did not bind their feet nor lead submissive lives. It was a time in which a number of exceptional women contributed in the areas of culture and politics.

So it is no surprise that Wu, born into a rich and noble family, was taught to play music, write, and read the Chinese classics. By thirteen years of age she was known for her wit, intelligence, and beauty, and was recruited to the court of Emperor Tai Tsung. She soon became his favorite concubine. But she also had eyes for his son, Kao Tsung. When the emperor died and Kao Tsung took over, Wu was now twenty seven years old. In time she became a favorite concubine of the new emperor, giving birth to the sons he wanted. As mother of the future emperor of China, she grew in power. She managed to eliminate Kao Tsung's wife, Empress Wang, by accusing her of killing Wu's newborn daughter. Kao Tsung believed Wu, and replaced Empress Wang to marry the up and coming Wu Zetian. Within five years of their marriage, Emperor Kao Tsung suffered a crippling stroke. The Empress Wu took over the administrative duties of the court, a position equal to the emperor. She created a secret police force to spy on her opposition, and cruelly jailed or killed anyone who stood in her way, including the unfortunate Empress Wang.

With the death of Emperor Kao Tsung, Wu managed to outflank her eldest sons and moved her youngest, and much weaker son, into power. She in effect ruled, telling him what to do. In order to challenge Confucian beliefs against rule by women, Wu began a campaign to elevate the position of women. She had scholars write biographies of famous women, and raised the position of her mother's clan by giving her relatives high political posts. She moved her court away from the seat of traditional male power and tried to establish a new dynasty. She said that the ideal ruler was one who ruled like a mother does over her children. In 690, Wu's youngest son removed himself from office, and Wu Zetian was declared emperor of China. In spite of her ruthless climb to power, her rule proved to be benign. She found the best people she could to run the government, and treated those she trusted fairly. She reduced the army's size and stopped the influence of aristocratic military men on government by replacing them with scholars. Everyone had to compete for government positions by taking exams, thus setting the practice of government run by scholars.

Wu also was fair to peasants, lowering oppressive taxes, raising agricultural production, and strengthening public works. During her reign, Empress Wu placed Buddhism over Daoism as the favored state religion. She invited the most gifted scholars to China and built Buddhist temples and cave sculptures. Chinese Buddhism achieved its highest development under the reign of Wu Zetian. As she grew older, Empress Wu lessened the power of her secret police. But she become increasingly superstitious and fearful. Sorcerers and corrupt court favorites flattered her. Finally, in 705, she was pressured to give up the throne in favor of her third son, who was waiting all these years in the wings. Wu Zetian died peacefully at age eighty the same year. Want information on resources on Empress Wu? Clink here . For a discussion of women within the family: Ancient China and India. Click here .

The unit Eyes of the Empress: Women in Tang Dynasty will tell you more about Empress Wu Zetian and other women of the period, and daily life in the glorious years of the Tang Dynasty, Statue of seated Buddha that the Empress Wu Zetian had carved into the 1000 Buddha Caves at Luoyang, China. The face is suppose to resemble the empress. Biography List Tang Empress Wu Zetian - the Only Female Emperor in Chinese History Empress Wu Zetian of Tang Dynasty The Portrait of Wu Zetian Emperor Wu Zetian was considered 'an excellent woman politician in Chinese feudal time' by Dr. Sun Yat-sen's wife Soong Ching-ling. She had many titles: the concubine of Emperor Taizong, the empress of Emperor Gaozong, the mother of Emperor Zhongzong and Emperor Ruizong, and a nun in the temple. But her most glorious title was that she was the only female emperor in Chinese history who actually ruled the whole country for almost half a century. Wu Zetian was born in 624 in Wenshui county, Shanxi Province.

Her father Wu Shihuo was one of the meritorious chancellors of the Tang Dynasty. When she was young, she read many books and received a good education from her father. At the age of 14, she was selected to be Emperor Taizong's Cai Ren (a kind of Tang concubine) because of her beauty and intelligence. During that period, her literary talents impressed Emperor Taizong who permitted her to assist as a secretary. This enlarged Wu's insight and knowledge of state affairs. It was also then that Wu began to attract the attention of Prince Li Zhi who later became Emperor Gaozong. In 649 when Emperor Taizong died, Wu was sent to Ganye Temple to be a nun. After Emperor Gaozong ascended the throne, his adoration of Wu remained. Just at that time, Empress Wang and concubine Xiao Shufei were struggling for the emperor's favor. During this time Wu Zetian was recalled to the palace and given the title Zhao Yi (a kind of Tang concubine). Ambitious Wu was not satisfied with this title.

In order to get the position of empress, she killed her baby daughter with her own hands and imputed it to Empress Wang. In this way, she made Emperor Gaozong depose Empress Wang. In 655, Wu Zetian successfully became the empress, launching her political career. After Wu Zetian became empress, many of the state affairs were up to her for final decision since Emperor Gaozong was weak-minded. In that period of time, Wu managed to remove a group of political enemies thus clearing away all the obstacles in her political career. Beginning in 660 when Emperor Gaozong caught an eye disease, Wu began to grasp all the real power in the guise of assisting the Emperor in dealing with state affairs. In 674, Emperor Gaozong changed his title into Tian Huang (Emperor of Heaven) while Empress Wu Zetian changed her title into Tian Hou (Empress of Heaven). Meanwhile, people in the street called them Er Sheng (two gods). In 683, Emperor Gaozong died.

Successively, she put her two sons, Li Xian3 and Li Dan, onto the throne as Emperor Zhongzong and Emperor Ruizong. Actually, the real power always remained in Wu's hands. In 690, Wu deposed Emperor Ruizong and proclaimed herself Emperor Zetian. By changing the state title into Zhou, she realized her long-cherished imperial dream. 1000+ images about Wu Zetian on Pinterest | Buddhism, In china and Wu zetian Forward Wu Zetian - China - 690 CE: An Empress of China and the founder of the Zhou Dynasty, she oversaw a period of major expansion of the Chinese empire, extending it far beyond its previous territorial limits deep into Central Asia and Korea. She also oversaw burgeoning state support for Taoism, Buddhism, education, and literature. See More As the only female Emperor in the history of China As the only female Emperor in the history of China Li Hongzhang (1823-1901) Powerful official invites controversy LI Hongzhang was a leading statesman and the most powerful government official in the late Qing... There are more than 400 Emperors in the history of China.

The first Emperor coined the title Emperor in 221 BCE after he successfully unified China. The last Emperor in China abdicated in 1912, bringing an end to the Qing Dynasty and with it, the end of imperial China. There was only one female Emperor in the history of China. She was known as Empress Wu Zetian. There was no way that a woman in imperial China could rise to be a ruler. The rule of succession prohibited woman to take over the ruling position. However, Empress Wu Zetian defied all odd to become the first and only female Emperor. She founded her own Dynasty and ruled for 15 years. Out of more than 400 emperors, only 7 lived beyond the age of 80 years old. Empress Wu Zetian was one of them How did this remarkable woman manage to obtain such prestige? Let us have an overview of her life. She entered the world on 17 February 604[3]. Since young, she developed a love for reading and a thirst for knowledge. At the age of 14, she was chosen to be a concubine of Emperor Tang Taizong.

Emperor in ancient China had a lot of concubines. Wu Zetian was one of the many concubines to a man old enough to be her father. She was not from the rich and powerful family, and her father passed away when she was young. She could not use her family influence to promote to higher ranking concubine. So, she remained a lowly concubine while Emperor Tang Taizong was alive. From a young age, her cold-hearted ambition was apparent. Once Emperor Tang Taizong had a horse that nobody could tame. Wu Zetian told him that she could tame the horse with an iron whip, an iron hammer, and a sharp dagger. She would first whip it with the iron whip. If the horse did not submit, she would use the hammer to hammer its head. If the horse was not submissive, she would kill it with the dagger. Emperor Tang Taizong was a kind man who loved animal. He felt that Wu Zetian was too cold-hearted and ignored her. Wu Zetian knew that Emperor Tang Taizong did not like her. As a far sighted woman, she targeted the crown prince Li Zhi.

She developed a close romantic relationship with the Crown Prince. Upon the death of Emperor Tang Taizong, all the concubines were sent to the temple to become Buddhist nuns. That was the time that Wu Zetian's strategy paid off. The new emperor, Emperor Tang Gaozong, loved her and acted upon Empress Wang's suggestion to take Wu Zetian as his concubine. Emperor Tang Gaozong loved Consort Xiao more than Empress Wang. Empress Wang thought that with the help of Wu Zetian, she could reduce the influence of Consort Xiao. She had chosen the wrong person to be the weapon in the war of jealousy. Wu Zetian took steps to get rid of her "enemies" namely Empress Wang and Consort Xiao. She framed them for killing her baby girl and practising black magic. The history book pointed to Wu Zetian killing her own flesh and blood for the purpose of framing Empress Wang. She ordered the execution of the Empress Wang and Consort Xiao by beating them a hundred times and chopping off their hands and legs before soaking them in wine. Both ladies suffered greatly before death. Consort Xiao vowed to come back as a cat to haunt Wu Zetian.

Wu Zetian was made Empress. For the rest of her lives, she had a morbid fear of cat. Empress Wu Zetian became the invisible ruling power from the year 660 onwards. She took steps to kill all the officers who opposed her and to consolidate her ruling power. Whenever Emperor Tang Gaozong held court, Empress Wu would sit behind the curtain and command him to act. After the death of Emperor Tang Gaozhong, Empress Wu continued to hold actual ruling power behind all the puppet emperors. In the year 690, she dethroned the puppet emperor, declared herself as Sacred and Divine Empress Regnant and founded her own Dynasty. Was she a good Emperor? There was no doubt that Empress Wu was a very formidable woman. Much as she was feared and hated by her enemies, historians admitted that she was a very capable and far sighted ruler. During her reign, she improved on the imperial examination so as to recognise talents. She took the trouble to preside over the examinations, and conducted oral examinations of scholars who had passed a few rounds of examinations. She had the ability to recognise talent and managed talent.

The family background of the scholars did not matter, what really matter was the potential. On the same note, once she discovered incompetency among the court officials, she would take action to remove them from office. Empress Wu exercised good judgments in her ruling, so much so that nobody can fault her on her policy making skills. She improved on the agricultural and commercial development of the country. She settled the border dispute and brought peace to the people living near the border. Under her rulership, the population increased at an average rate of 9.1%. People enjoyed peace and prosperity. The court was full of talented officers serving the ordinary people. She passed away in 705, living beyond 80 years old. Empress Wu's achievement testified to her intelligent and beauty. She was able to understand the big picture and made strategic plans. She did not have anyone to help her since her father passed away when she was very young. She did not even have a mentor to guide her. Since she was the first and only female Emperor, she had no one to model after. Wu Zetian is the first and only woman in Chinese history who actually rose to power as an empress and managed to rule for 15 years.

Early life Wu Zetian was born to a rich and noble family. Her father was a timber merchant but later became a high ranking government officer because he had served with the emperor during the war. She was very talented when she was young and showed an early interest in both literature and poetry. After her father's death, at the age of 14, she was chosen by the emperor Taizong to enter the palace as a cairen, a low rank concubine. After Taizong's death, she was sent to a monastery to serve as a nun due to the regulation of the palace. Emperor Gaozong , Taizong's son, admired her beauty and talent. Therefore, he allowed her to return to the palace as a concubine of his. His favourite concubine She soon became Gaozong's favourite concubine, but her ambition reached far beyond that. She started to use her relationship with Gaozong to eliminate people who were against her. In AD 665, she became empress after plotting the assassination of empress Wang. It is said that in order to become the empress, she suffocated her newborn daughter and accused empress Wang.

Gaozong could not believe that his favourite concubine would commit such a crime and was convinced that Wang was guilty because she never had any children of her own. Gaozong put her under house arrest. However, just before Wang was going to be released, the newly appointed empress Wu Zetian ordered people to chop off her predecessor's limbs and place her inside a big jar. She was then left there to die. Step to the top Gaozong was attracted by Wu's talent so he often asked her to help in dealing with government issues. This gave Wu a chance to become familiar with politics. After Gaozong became sick he relied even more on her. Wu even attended the morning assembly of officers, together with Gaozong. This had never happened before or even after her because it means absolute power. This is what women would never be allowed to have at that time. After Gaozong's death, Wu totally took over his power. She exiled her elder son, who should have been the successor, and crowned her youngest son who was more obedient to her. All the power was in her hands then, but she was still not satisfied.

The Holy Emperor She began to eliminate all the officers who were against her or were trying to help the young emperor gain power. After replacing all the officers with trusted ones, she was ready to have the throne she had long-desired. In AD 690, at the age of 67, Wu declared her power of throne and changed the name of the country from Tang into Zhou. In China, the ruler is titled emperor. There is no such title for the ruler as empress because it is not decided by gender, so Wu Zetian titled herself the Holy Emperor. End of the legend After ruling peacefully for about 15 years, in AD 704, Wu was already 81 years-old and had begun getting sick. She left most of the government issues to her two young lovers, Zhang Yizhi and Zhang Changzong . This led to wide dissatisfaction among officers and the prince, Li Xian . In order to keep the power in his hands, Li Xian started a rebellion with chancellor Zhang Xianzhi. Having lost the support from most of the officers, Wu was forced to abdicate her throne and handed it over to her son, Li Xian.

Surprisingly, she was feeling remorseful in the last days of her life as she admitted all her crimes publicly and pardoned all the people she had sentenced during her reign. After her death, one year later in AD 705, due to her own will, her title of the Holy Emperor was removed. She was buried together with Gaozong and, like all royal members, she erected a stele for herself but carved no inscription. Additionally, one of her last orders was that nobody was allowed to write any form of biography for her... Originally published on 2011-08-24 1000+ images about Empress Wu on Pinterest | Military, Wu zetian and The throne Forward Tang Dynasty in 700 AD. he Tang Dynasty (唐朝) (June 18, 618 to June 1, 907 AD, was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li (李) family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire.

The dynasty was interrupted briefly by the Second Zhou Dynasty (October 8, 690 – March 3, 705) when Empress Wu Zetian seized the throne, becoming the only Chinese empress regnant to rule. See More Top 10 Evil People From Ancient Times - Listverse Top 10 Evil People From Ancient Times Patrick Ryan May 30, 2012 History is replete with tales of evil people performing evil acts. Sadly they are so many in number that Listverse has been able to feature many top 10 lists of evil humans – men , women , and even children . This list looks at ten people from history who were especially cruel and who, in many cases, are remembered for that reason alone. 10 Empress Wu Wu Zetian was empress of China from October 690 to February 705. She is the only woman in Chinese history to rule in her own right. She was a ruthless, cruel, sadistic and sexually depraved murderess who drove her people into chaos. She ordered tortures, executions and forced suicides on a daily basis. She had all of her rivals exiled or executed including the ex empress Wang.

She also had members of her family executed including her niece, nephews and killed her newly born daughter. Other family members were exiled including her sons, in which one was eventually ordered to commit suicide. Wu had thousands of her people poisoned, strangled, mutilated, burned and boiled alive. Others had their noses, ears, feet and legs cut off. She died in December 705 at age 81. 9 Qin Shi Huang Qin Shi Huang was the first emperor of China from 221 BC to 210 BC. He was paranoid, brutal, cruel and sadistic. He improvised and massacred his people. In his first year in power, over 120,000 families were forced to relocate from their homes. He burned almost all books and writings in China and had hundreds of scholars beheaded and buried alive. He improvised his people, farmers in particular, by raising taxes. At one point, a million men were put to work as forced labor to build 4,700 miles of roads. He created walls and other architects that paved the way for the Great Wall of China, but hundreds of thousands were worked, starved to death and murdered.

Qin was obsessed of trying to become immortal, when scientists and scholars failed to find a way, he had 480 of them buried alive. Even in death, he was afraid that he would be attacked. He ordered a 3 mile wide mausoleum to be built that required 700,000 people, most of them were killed in the process. It is possible that he killed over 1 million people. Qin died in September 210 BC. 8 Godfrey of Bouillon Godfrey of Bouillon was a Frankish knight who was the leader of the First Crusade, a military expedition by Western Christianity to regain the Holy Lands in which tens of thousands of people were killed. He was determined to avenge the blood of Jesus on the Jewish people. In 1099, he and his army arrived at Jerusalem. They charged into the city and and killed anyone that didn’t leave the city. They destroyed Holy sights. Solders, citizens, Jews and Muslims alike were killed. Victims were either burned or had their stomachs sliced open. The surviving Jews fled to a synagogue, which Godfrey burned down.

He ordered his men to hunt down and kill all of the survivors that left the city. It is believed that no one survived. Piles of hands, feet and heads were scattered throughout the city. Godfrey is said to have stripped to his undergarments and walked barefoot through piles of blood that reached up to his ankles. It is possible that 70,000 Muslims alone were killed there. He died from plague in July 1100, his goal was complete. 7 Herod The Great Herod was king of Jueda from 37 BC to 4 BC. He was a heartless, paranoid and bloodthirsty man who committed unimaginable atrocities. He is beast known for wanting to kill Jesus and for committing the Massacre of the Innocents. According to the Bible, Herod ordered every boy at the age 2 or younger to be killed in Bethlehem. There are estimates that 10,000 to 150,000 boys were murdered, but Bethlehem was only a village, so historians think only a few dozen boys were killed, but Herod would have done it, regardless of the number of boys there were.

He ordered the deaths of thousands of people including the high priest, his rivals, grandfather-in law, mother-in law, brother-in law, uncle, wife, 3 sons (one of his sons was killed only a few days before Herod died) and anyone else who he distrusted and thought was a threat to him, but most of his victims were innocent and given false crimes. He would kill anyone to stay in power. Shortly before his death, Herod ordered that the foremost men in Jueda should be executed so that his funeral would be marked by a national outpouring of grief. Fortunately, this command was ignored. He died in 4 BC due to illness. His sons also became villains of the Bible. His son, Herod Antipas killed John the Baptist and was involved in the murder of Jesus. And James, son of Zebedee, was beheaded by Herod Agrippa. 6 King John John was king of England from April 1199 to October 1216. He impoverished England, caused the creation of the Magna Carta and inspired the Robin Hood legend. He was a greedy, violent, malicious, cruel, ruthless, lecherous, self-indulgent and callous.

He betrayed his friends, father, brothers, wife, and country. He seduced the wives and daughters of his friends and enemies (in which he would produce 12 illegitimate children) and exiled their relatives and parents. He imprisoned and killed anyone who threatened or rivaled him, including his nephew, Arthur. When his men disobeyed him, he would throw them in prison, on a sheet of lead, and starve them to death. He plundered the revenues of the Church and ordered every priest, bishop and abbot to leave England, those that did not suffered the consequences. He declared wars against France and the Barons, in which tens of thousands may have died in. John often killed or exiled relatives of his enemies. He tortured, hanged, beheaded, stabbed, blinded and starved thousands to death. He waged a campaign on every Jew in England, to take all their money, imprison and torture them. John tried to steal as much money as possible from his people. He implemented a huge increase in taxation and merciless exploitations of his feudal prerogatives. He lost almost all of his empire.

In fact when Normandy, England’s last possession of France was seized, John reportedly stayed in bed with his wife as his solders were being killed. Some taxes were raised up to 300%. These taxes ruined the lives of tens of thousands of people. After he signed the Magna Carta, John shamelessly fought back against his enemies, but if he lost the fight, the kingdom of England would have fallen into the French hands. However, John died before he could in start a full-scale war in October 1216 from eating too many peaches and drinking too much ale. 5 Tamerlane the Great Tamerlane (a.k.a. Timur) was a fourteenth-century conqueror of Western, Central and South Asia and the founder of the Timurid Empire and Timurid dynasty. He believed that he was descended from Genghis Khan. He was a cruel, ruthless, heartless and bloodthirsty conqueror who brought terror and destruction to millions. At some places thousands were forced to jump from very high heights. 200,000 surrendered solders and civilians were killed in India.

There were decapitations of 20,000 citizens in Aleppo, 70,000 in Ifshan, the beheading of 70,000 in Tikrit and 90,000 in Baghdad. On some occasions, he ordered thousands of people to die of slow suffocation. Huge towers made from his enemies’ skulls were built for him to look at with satisfaction. People were often decapitated, burned, stabbed, dismembered and buried alive. He killed 15 to 20 million people. Tamerlane died on February 1405 from natural causes. 4 Nero Nero was Rome’s 5th emperor from AD 54 to AD 68. He brought the Roman Empire to ruin. He burned entire cities. He murdered thousands of people including his aunt, stepsister, ex-wife, mother, wife and stepbrother. He systematically murdered every member in his family. Some were killed in searing hot baths. He poisoned, beheaded, stabbed, burned, boiled, crucified and impaled people. He often raped women and cut off the veins and private parts of both men and women.

He is said to have fiddled while Rome was burning. The great fire killed many of Rome’s citizens and left hundreds of thousands destitute. Though Nero probably started the fire, he blamed it on the Christians. Thousands of Christians were starved to death, burned, torn by dogs, fed to lions, crucified, used as torches and nailed to crosses. He was so bad that many of the Christians thought he was the Antichrist. He even tortured and killed the apostle Paul and the disciple Peter. Paul was beheaded and Peter was crucified upside down. Nero committed suicide when he realized he was losing the rebellion and his life was in danger. 3 Caligula He was Rome’s 3rd emperor from AD 37 to AD 41. He was wild, sadistic, extravagant, with a penchant for sexual adventures. In the first 3 months in his reign of terror, over 160,000 animals were sacrificed in his honor. He later got a brain fever that made him mentally ill. He then believed he was a god. Under Caligula, the law became an instrument of torture. He believed prisoners should feel a painful death. He began to brutally murder for fun.

He would kill his opponents slowly and painfully over hours or days. He decapitated and strangled children. People were beaten with heavy chains. He forced families to attend their children’s execution. Many people had their tongues cut off. He fed prisoners to a lions, panthers and bears and often killed gladiators. One gladiator alone was beaten up for 2 days full days. He sometimes ordered people to be killed by elephants. His cruelty caused people to commit suicide. He demanded sex with a lot of women including his 3 sisters. He would force husbands to give up their wives. He exiled his sisters and had his brother in law put to death. He caused many to die of starvation. Sawing people was one of his favorite things to do, which filleted the spine and spinal cord from crotch down to the chest. He liked to chew up the testicles of victims. He killed some of his most important friends and his father-in-law.

One time Caligula said “I wish Rome had but one neck, so that I could cut off all their heads with one blow!” In AD 41, Caligula was killed by Casius Chaerea, a man whom Caligula had mocked at court for his effeminacy. 2 Attila The Hun Attila ruled the Huns from 434 to 453. He was the leader of the Hunnic, Empire which stretched from the Ural River to Germany and from the Baltic Sea to the Danube River. He was a bloodthirsty, cruel and ruthless barbarian that was a lover of battle. He wanted to destroy the Roman Empire and everyone in his way. If you were a citizen in Rome and begged for mercy, he would kill you. He was as great a menace to the Teutonic tribes people as he was to the Romans. He was so destructive that people believed he was a punishment from Heaven. His nickname was Attila the Scourge of God. Attila and the other Huns thought that other people’s lives were meaningless. He would torture and destroy his enemies, his own people and entire population of cities.

He rampaged Roman cities and may have killed up to hundreds of thousands. People were sometimes torn limb by limb. One time Attila found Saint Ursula, the perpetual Virgin, and wanted to marry her. She refused which made Attila angry and had her killed along with 11,000 of her companions. It is said that he might have drunk a women’s blood. He eat 2 of his sons and killed his brother. Attila coughed up blood and died in 453. 1 Genghis Khan He was Khan of the Mongolian Empire from 1206 to 1227. In that time he conquered most of China and all the land through the Caspian Sea. He was ruthless, vengeful, cruel, and bloodthirsty. He and his army destroyed countless numbers of cities, solders, civilians and children. People were killed by having molten metal and silver poured into their eyes and ears. In one massacre alone, 700,000 people were killed. At another place, the poor were decapitated and the rich were tortured to find out where their treasure was. Women were sometimes raped in front of their families.

Hundreds of thousands had their lives ruined. It is said that if his army of men had no water they would cut a horse’s vein and drink its blood. He would use people as human shields. Hundreds of thousands became slaves. He would order you to be killed immediately if you were an enemy, if you betrayed him or if you were disloyal to him. Genghis and his army killed 20 to 60 million people. He killed three-fourths of the population of the Iranian Plateau, which was 10 to 15 million. He also killed his brother at age 13 just because his brother had stolen a fish from him. Genghis Khan once said “The greatest happiness is to scatter your enemy to drive him before you, to see his cities reduced to ashes, to see those who love him shrouded in tears, and to gather into your bosom his wives and daughters.” Genghis Khan died of natural causes in 1227. + Basil The Bulgar Slayer Basil II was emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 976 to 1025.

He has been described as hero-monster because he was a powerful and successful ruler, but also one of the most cruel, ruthless and merciless rulers in history. He ruined the lives of all of those who challenged his rule. This included rebels, Arabs and political rivals (both real and imagined). They would be forced to pay higher taxes, confiscating their lands, imprisoned for life, exiled, tortured, or executed. He started many wars, particularly the one with the Bulgarians that lasted for 30 years. Throughout the war, Basil would normally slaughter all of his enemies and prisoners. Basil won the war in the Battle of Kleidon, in which he killed 15,000 Bulgarian soldiers and took another 15,000 as prisoners. As punishment, Basil had all of them blinded, using red-hot pokers and daggers. He left every 100th man with one eye so they could lead the rest back home. Thousands of them might have died during the journey, and the Bulgarian leader is reported to have died of a stroke upon seeing them.

Undaunted by his cruelty, Basil used the same tactic 2 years later in Macedonia, blinding every Bulgarian his army captured, including women and children, and this time he left no one sighted. Tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians were killed by Basil. He died in December 1025. More Great Lists Wu Zetian, China’s only Female Emperor — a “Very Early” Feminist (Viewed as Single Page) | iLook China Wu Zetian, China’s only Female Emperor — a “Very Early” Feminist (Viewed as Single Page) After writing the post about Detective Dee , I decided to combine the four-part series of Emperor Wu Zetian (624 – 705 AD), who was the only woman in China’s history to be an emperor. Her rise and reign has been criticized harshly by Confucian historians but after the 1950s has been viewed in a better light. Emperor Zetian ranks alongside Cleopatra—the last Pharaoh of Egypt, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen Isabella of Spain, Queen Elizabeth I of England, Catherine the Great and Queen Victoria.

However, In 637 AD at fourteen, Zetian did not have the official status of a court concubine. She was a serving girl in the Imperial palace. The second and third emperors of the Tang Dynasty were her husbands and seventeen of the emperors that ruled after her second husband died were her children and their children. Empress Zetian gave birth to four sons and two daughters. After her first husband Emperor Taizong died, she became a nun in Ganye (Buddhist) Temple where she stayed for several years before being chosen at the age of twenty-seven to be a low ranking wife of Emperor Gaozong, the second Tang emperor’s son. Historical records say Zetian was a stunning beauty and that because of this Emperor Gaozong was attracted to her, but some scholars say it was her intelligence that won him over. One year after being married to Gaozong, Zetian outperformed the other wives and concubines to become the Empress. After becoming Empress, she advised Gaozong on many political issues, which benefited the empire. Eventually, she earned the title of “Queen of Heaven”.

When Emperor Gaozong became seriously ill, he named Zetian to deal with the affairs of state in his name. He died in 683 AD, and Zetian’s third son Lixian became emperor. However, a month later, Zetian, as the Empress Dowager, removed Lixian from power. Then she turned to her fourth son, but at first, he refused and then eventually accepted the title and became known as Emperor Tang Ruizong. Zetian believed her sons were weak, so she continued to control the affairs of state as the Dowager Empress. After Gaozong’s death, she funded the carving of the 17 meter high (almost 56 feet) Lu Shena Buddha, the largest rock carved Buddha in the Longmen Grotto . It is believed that the Buddha’s face is modeled after Zetian, since she funded the project. Although there are rumors and gossip that Zetian had many lovers, it is obvious from her age when Emperor Gaozong died that the stories are exaggerations encouraged by her political enemies and the imaginations of future scholars of history texts and authors of fiction, such as the Detective Dee movie.

Mandarin After eight years of ruling the empire without officially being the Emperor, Zetian made a shocking decision. In 690 AD, she changed the Tang Dynasty into the Zhou Dynasty and declared herself an Emperor when she was age sixty-seven. While Zetian ruled the Tang Dynasty, the economy, culture, social and political affairs prospered. She was also a talented military leader who reformed the army. After the reforms, without leaving her palace, she managed military conflicts with rival states and defeated them. Under her leadership, the empire expanded and grew stronger. Near her death in 704 AD, Zetian returned the throne to her third son Lixian, who became Emperor again. Some scholars claim that she became a Buddhist for political reasons, but she had many Buddhist temples built and sculptures of Buddha made, and these projects were expensive. However, as far as affairs of state were concerned, she did not allow her Buddhist beliefs to influence her decisions. For example, she promoted officials that earned the right through merit. There is no evidence of favoritism. In fact, officials convicted of failing in their duties to the people were punished and often beheaded. Mandarin She also did not rule as a tyrant.

Before making decisions, she listened to all opinions on an issue. Today, historians study her ruling style, and the evidence says her political decisions were wise ones. During the fifty years that Zetian ruled the Tang Dynasty as Dowager Empress and then as an Emperor, China’s borders expanded north, south and west and she did not lose any of the territory gained. She understood that with the people’s support, political stability was guaranteed. When there were tragedies such as floods, the dynasty quickly offered relief so recovery was swift. Although imperial family members of the Tang Dynasty staged revolutions, most of the rebellions were suppressed in a few months. While Zetian ruled China, the role of women in society changed drastically and due to her, feminism existed in China more than 1,300 years ago. Women didn’t have to worry about the clothing they wore. They were free to explore the arts such as writing poetry. Women rode horses, played Chinese chess, wrote and played music and practiced archery as men did. Even after Zetian was forced to retire at age eighty, there were officials that called for her return. The historical records show that the Tang emperors that followed her were not as wise or trusting as she was.

There is a collection of fifty-eight of Zetian’s poems. Most of her poetry was written for temple ceremonies and some for travel. She also wrote many books and collected art. For example, Zetian edited the Book of Agriculture, which influenced agricultural development during the Tang Dynasty. In fact, there is evidence that Zetian respected decisive men such as her Prime Minister De Renji (represented by the fictional Detective Dee in the recent epic Chinese movie), and she often talked about Li Shimin, her first husband, with respect. After her death in 705 AD, her third son, Lixian, was removed as emperor due to a plot. In 710 AD, Zetian’s grandson, Li Longji, defeated a rebellion that intended to take over the dynasty and returned his father to the throne. Eventually, Longji would become Emperor Tang Xuanzong, and under his rule the Dynasty prospered again. However, when Yuanzong grew old, he neglected his duties and spent too much time with his favorite concubine. During those years, the officials became corrupt and this led to the Shi Rebellion, which his son, the next emperor, suppressed.

After that, the eunuchs gained too much power, and the next fourteen emperors from 756 to 907 AD were weak leading to the eventual collapse of the Tang Dynasty. The historical evidence says Emperor Wu Zetian, as an ancient feminist, should have earned praise since she did a better job as Emperor than most of the men that ruled the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 AD) did. _______________ Lloyd Lofthouse is the award-winning author of My Splendid Concubine [3rd edition] . When you love a Chinese woman, you marry her family and culture too. This is the lusty love story Sir Robert Hart did not want the world to discover. Wu Zetian: The Dragon Lady of Ancient China | Polemics Wu Zetian: The Dragon Lady of Ancient China Posted on Wu Zetian, Empress of the Tang Dynasty by Dennis Chan Hong Ming As China’s international status has risen over recent decades, human rights issues have become a concern for many. Gender inequality in particular has long been the target of criticism from Western cultures. Historically, girls and women in China were merely considered “belongings” of their husbands and fathers.

Young girls from prestigious families were forbidden to leave their rooms until they reached marrying age (三步不出閏門) and the notorious foot binding practice (纏足) applied to girls during the Qing dynasty are just two illustrations of the suppression of females under the patriarchic society in ancient China. Polygyny was the dominate form of marriage for thousands of years. It was not uncommon for male peasants to have four wives at the same time, and emperors from different royal dynasties kept innumerable concubines in their inner palaces. According to legend, each emperor of the Northern Song dynasty was married to “three thousand beauties” (后宮佳麗三千) at once. Women only had the unfortunate destiny of being men’s appendages. Considering the many long-established societal constraints, the appearance of Wu Zetian’s (武則天) story is exceptional. So exceptional that no one in the past five millennia has ever come close to what she achieved and established. Regarded as the only ruling “female emperor” in Chinese history, Wu Zetian showed that women’s abilities in politics are no weaker than men’s. Wu’s rise to power was not a smooth one.

Though debated, it is generally accepted that the Wu family was not aristocratic. Her father was originally a timber businessman, but he contributed to the establishment of the Tang dynasty, which helped to land him a minor official title in the royal court. Born as Wu Zhao in 624 AD, Wu Zetian had shown herself to be a strong-willed child as she refused to practice needlework and chose studying instead. Because of the reputation of her beauty, Wu was chosen to be a concubine (才人) of Emperor Taizong of Tang at the age of thirteen. The age difference between Wu Zetian and Emperor Taizong was more than 27 years; it is not surprising that Wu Zetian became attracted to his son Prince Li Zhi, who was only four years older. The affair between Wu Zetian and Prince Li Zhi had been kept secret for years until the death of Emperor Taizong in 649 AD. Wu never gave birth to any children with Emperor Taizong. According to royal custom, childless consorts of deceased emperors were permanently consigned to Ganye Temple (a Buddhist monastic institution) after the emperor’s death.

Hence, Wu was forced to accept such an arrangement as well, and was expected to serve as a Buddhist nun for the rest of her life. Meanwhile, Prince Li Zhi had taken over the throne. The new emperor had never forgotten Wu, and he intentionally chose Ganye Temple for his inauguration. Wu and Emperor Gaozong met again, and not long afterwards it was discovered that Wu was pregnant with his child. By the early 650s, Wu left the temple and was welcomed by Emperor Gaozong to the inner palace. She was promoted to be Zhaoyi (昭儀), the second highest concubine title in the Tang royal court. Her imperial life started over again. Throughout her marriage, Wu gave birth to four princes and two princesses. Her ambition to climb up the hierarchy had always been obvious. Bearing royal offspring and having them chosen as heir to the throne was the only way for women to achieve such aims, so Wu had strategically allied herself with other influential royal concubines and high-ranking government officials in order to guarantee that her first son would be the next emperor. In the meantime, Wu had been longing for the position of Empress Consort.

However Emperor Gaozong already had a queen (Empress Wang). Wu succeeded in eliminating Empress Wang by framing her for killing Princess Anding (Wu’s daughter) out of jealousy. In reality, Wu strangled her own one-year old daughter to death. Wu successfully became Empress Consort in 655. The mercilessness and cruelty of Wu in achieving her goal alarmed the entire inner palace, and later, even the emperor. Emperor Gaozong was not a wise ruler. Most of his decisions actually came from Empress Wu. Gradually, she dominated both the inner palace and the government, while the Emperor became severely dependent on her and was entirely under her constraints. Though Emperor Gaozong eventually became aware of Wu’s ambition, he no longer had the ability to stop her. In 683, Emperor Gaozong died and Wu became the Empress Dowager and Regent. She poisoned the crown prince and had the other princes exiled. Her own son, Li Zhe, thus ascended to the throne. However, he was not willing to act as his mother’s puppet.

He tried to seize power from her, but Wu realized the plan, reduced his title back to prince and had him exiled just six weeks after his inauguration. Afterwards, Wu made her youngest son, Li Dan, the new emperor. He was fearful of his mother’s ambition and power, and in 690 he abdicated the throne to his mother. This remarkable moment marked the birth of the first and only female emperor in Chinese history. Wu ascended to the throne as the sovereign of a great empire. She changed the name of the dynasty to Zhou, and changed her name from Wu Zhao to Wu Zetian, which literally means “as high as the heavens.” During her reign from 690 to 705, the Zhou dynasty became one of the most powerful dynasties in Chinese history. Wu encouraged talented people to work for the government by reinforcing the public examination system (科舉) for civil servants. Even commoners had a chance to take part and thus become government officials. Wu was also devoted to fighting against corruption, and the Zhou court is historically regarded as fair and upright.

According to the Chinese history classic Book of the Tang Dynasty (唐書), Wu’s Zhou dynasty is referred to as part of the “Greatest Era of the Tang Dynasty” (盛唐), which was the golden era of Chinese history. The map of the Chinese empire under Wu’s rule expanded beyond its previous territorial limits, deep into Central Asia and through the upper Korean peninsula. Development of Chinese literature and arts reached their peak. Wu also enlisted other women in her government. Among others, Shangguan Wan’er (上官婉兒), daughter of an exiled official from the Tang dynasty, was appointed as prime minister. The Zhou dynasty, the only dynasty led by women, was unprecedented and was the golden age of China in terms of political, economic and social development. The Machiavellian method Wu used to achieve her ambitions was undeniably brutal; nevertheless her contribution to Chinese society should not be undervalued. Was this Dragon Lady a blessing or a curse to Chinese civilization? Even Wu herself couldn’t give the answer. She had the “Wordless Stele” at her tomb at Qianling Mausoleum left blank to let the successors of Chinese culture judge her achievements and mistakes. Share this:

Question: What was the name of the only female emperor of China (690 to 705) to rule the country in her own right?
Answer: Wu